CGC SPAR was named after the original Coast Guard Womens
Reserve and is an acronym for the Coast Guard motto "Semper Paratus, Always
Ready." Built at the Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company in Duluth, MN, SPAR was
launched November 2, 1943. After being commissioned on June 12, 1944, SPAR was
subsequently stationed in Boston, MA in August 1944. Upon commissioning, SPAR was quickly
directed to assist in the war effort by supporting anti-submarine warfare during convoy
duty off the coast of Brazil.

On December l, 1946 SPARs homeport changed to Woods Hole, MA. SPAR was
moved again on June l, 1957 to Bristol, RI..

In 1957 SPAR conducted oceanographic operations through the Northwest passage. The
culmination of this assignment occurred when the Coast Guard Cutters STORIS, BRAMBLE, and
SPAR became the first vessels to circumnavigate the North American continent. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower sent his personal congratulations for this significant
accomplishment. This impressive history was further added to in 1966 when SPAR logged over
17,000 miles and visited such ports as Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Ireland
while conducting an oceanographic charting expedition in the Northern Atlantic.

The cutters homeport changed again in April 1967 to Boston, MA where it and the
cutter CACTUS traded captain and crew.

In March 1973 SPAR moved to its last homeport in South Portland, ME. SPAR went to
Refresher Training in Little Creek, VA in 1981 and achieved the highest marks ever earned
by an oceangoing buoy tender. In 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1995 SPAR again
returned from Little Creek with outstanding marks and proudly displayed a gold
"E with three gold stripes for nine consecutive overall "Excellent"
scores in operations and seamanship training. Because of this, SPAR was recognized
by Vice Admiral Paul Welling, Atlantic Area Commander, as "The cutter with the most
gold" in the Atlantic Fleet.

SPAR was a class "C" buoy tender with an overall length of 180 feet, a beam
of 37 feet, and a draft of 13 feet. The ships hull was constructed of welded steel
and has a total displacement of 1025 tons. SPAR was a single screw driven vessel with a
bow thruster. It is diesel-electric driven and generated 1200 horsepower for a maximum
speed of 12 knots. The ships compliment consisted of forty-five enlisted members and
eight officers.

The primary port calls for SPAR were Rockland, Maine and Southwest Harbor, Maine. Less
frequent port calls are made to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Boston, Massachusetts, and
Newport, Rhode Island.

SPAR was decommissioned on Friday, the twenty eighth of February 1997.

Life boat
leaving SPAR to go ashore to Jan Mayen Island Norway for a little r&r while on
her 17,000 mile journey across the north Atlantic, up past the realm of the
arctic circle and all throughout Europe's many ports back in 1966. The
video on the right shows the homecoming. 8mm film contributed by seaman
Kyle Chapman